Vendetta
by Aquaria Identity 07
Summary: In the aftermath of WILMA's detonation, Dodge suddenly disappears, and he is presumed dead by a heartbroken Alyss. Several months later, with Imagination completely depleted, a new figure emerges with an army behind him in order to eliminate both the powerless Wonderland Queen and her tyrannical aunt. However, when he sets his eyes on a certain assassin, Dodge's fate is revealed.


**Vendetta**

**Summary: **In the aftermath of WILMA's detonation, Dodge suddenly disappears. Without Imagination's presence to locate his remains, he is presumed dead by a heartbroken Alyss. Several months later, with Imagination completely depleted, a new figure emerges with an army behind him in order to eliminate both the powerless Wonderland Queen and her tyrannical aunt. However, when he sets his eyes on a certain assassin, it becomes all too clear as to what became of Dodge …

**A/N: ***phew* This is what happens when you are in charge of a shop and you have nothing to do but read books, like, say, _the entire Looking Glass Wars trilogy_: a plot bunny jumped into my lap and voilà, inspiration! This idea has been nagging me for weeks, and I've wanted to post this story for quite some time – and now, here it is. :D I love LGW, and The Cat is simply my favourite character, with Dodge Anders a close second (the rook has been growing on me, too). I would say that this piece is set in the events of Seeing Redd, when dear ol' Redd returns to Wonderland and, obviously, the aftermath of WILMA.

I hope you'll enjoy this offering, so please, no flames. :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the wonderful LGW trilogy (except a set of the books, of course) – it belongs to Frank Beddor, and I'm gonna go ahead and credit Lewis Carroll, too. I own only this humble fanfic piece.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Intro**

The sky over Wondertropolis was a murky grey colour, the twin suns shrouded by the equally grey clouds – the threat of rainfall was imminent. In fact, as if on cue, a small number of raindrops freefalled from the heavens only a few minutes later, guided downwards to the earth by the natural forces of gravity.

Down below, the procession continued. Mourners, onlookers, whoever else, they were not fazed by the light drizzle, despite its promise to become something more frightening, harder and dangerous. Nothing more could dampen their spirits now. Their aforesaid spirits could fall no further.

It was a truly sad day for all in attendance.

Especially for one woman in particular, who gracefully followed the solemn procession into the palace courtyard, albeit in an attitude of both melancholy and hopelessness.

In the course of three days, her spirits had plummeted harder than the rain.

* * *

_She woke up, feeling groggy and slightly unsteady. Rubbing her eyes to clear her vision and looking around at her surroundings with a bemused expression, she suddenly remembered where she was: in the Crystal Chamber._

_Check that – lying on the floor of the Crystal Chamber._

_A few metres away, sitting up on the floor with a degree of difficulty and all-round wooziness, an albino with enlarged ears looked over at her, rapidly blinking his eyes to get of the annoying blur he had attained. His ghostly skin looked somewhat paler._

"_Bibwit," she said, sitting up slowly, "are you alright?"_

"_Aside from the haziness and nausea, not to mention the brief lapse of consciousness, I do believe I shall recover," answered the tutor, his voice wobbling a bit. "I presume that these symptoms are results of our tampering with WILMA."_

"_Then it worked? We defeated Redd?"_

_Bibwit did not answer. He was staring past her, his eyes wide open and no longer blinking, his mouth open in shock._

"_Bibwit?"_

"_The Crystal," he murmured. "The Heart Crystal, Alyss – look!"_

_She turned around and gaped. The crystal structure was no longer glowing. It was dim, dark and plain as ordinary glass. Never before in living memory had she seen the crystal like this. So dim, so powerless …_

_She got to her feet, her legs threatening to give away, and she stilled her body as she tried to concentrate, to conjure up something with the help of her imagination, something small like a simple gemstone to appear in the palm of her hand …_

_Nothing._

_She tried again. In her mind, she pictured an all too familiar treat to appear before her: a tarty-tart with choco-nibblies. She could imagine the details on the sumptuous delicacy, from the minute crumbs to the creamy choco-nibblies centre ..._

_Nothing._

"_Bibwit," she gasped, a surge of panic rising within her body, "something's wrong with my imagination."_

"_What exactly is wrong with it?"_

"_I-I don't think I have any imagination left!"_

"_Are you sure, Alyss?"_

"_Yes! I can't conjure a thing!"_

_Bibwit blinked, shifting his gaze from her to the Heart Crystal. He, too, got onto his feet, his arms out to steady himself. "If I didn't know any better, the Heart Crystal's current state has a somewhat strong bearing on your imagination, or lack thereof."_

"_So if I don't have any imagination, then that means ..."_

_Her voice trailed off, the sudden realisation sinking in: no imagination, no remote viewing, and that means ..._

_The name "Dodge" formed on her lips._

_Suddenly, the control desk's audio speakers crackled back to life. General Doppelgänger's voice could be heard despite the terrible static quality. "Queen Alyss? Bibwit? Can you hear me? Are you alright?"_

"_Yes, we're fine, General," answered Bibwit, though to Alyss his voice sounded far away. "What's the current situation since the detonation of WILMA?"_

"_We're getting similar reports from our army," said General Doppelgänger. "Everyone – from our soldiers to Redd's forces to civilians – was rendered unconscious upon the detonation of WILMA, and as of now some are still waking up from the blast. There's no sign of Redd or Arch, though a soldier saw them retreat. Some Boarderlanders have followed suit, though we are currently rounding up those who've remained behind."_

"_Did the soldier happen to see Redd use her imagination at all?"_

"_Not that he could see. He says that Redd unleashed doggerels and retreated on a spirit-dane with Arch, whom she had threatened with her sceptre. That's all, I'm afraid."_

"_Does he know if The Cat retreated with Redd?" she suddenly asked, her hollow tone surprising Bibwit and the General on the other end._

"_Yes, The Cat was seen retreating with Redd, presumably back to Boarderland," responded General Doppelgänger._

_Her breath hitched in her throat. A sense of unease threatened to consume her ..._

"_General," Bibwit intervened, sensing his queen's discomfort, "WILMA has affected the Heart Crystal, thereby causing the scrambling of imagination. Alyss, and, by the looks of things, Redd, have been left imagination-less."_

"_Oh Issa, it's the Crystal Continuum all over the again," the General groaned. "We're getting reports that imaginationists can't use their abilities. They want to know how long this will last."_

"_I honestly can't say right now, General. We can only hope that it's temporary."_

_Bibwit turned in her direction, shocked at her sudden ghostly pallor and worried frown. "Alyss?"_

_She did not answer him. Instead, she curtly addressed the perplexed General on the speakers. "General, I'm unable to use my remote viewing to locate Dodge. Has he reported to you yet?"_

"_Not yet, your Majesty," replied General Doppelgänger. "Do you wish me to send a dispatch to him?"_

"_Right now."_

"_Yes, your Majesty. Please stand by."_

_When the General signed off, Bibwit drew closer to her. "He'll be just fine," was all he could say to her._

_But she wanted to hear that from General Doppelgänger himself. To hear that, and to hear him say that Dodge was on his way back._

_A few minutes of silence passed, and the speakers crackled once more, the General's voice sounding on the other end. "Queen Alyss?"_

"_I'm here," she answered, silently praying._

"_I'm afraid I'm unable to make contact with Dodge, your Majesty," said the General over the static. "I've repeatedly sent dispatches to his comm-link, though he has yet to answer. Either he is still unconscious, or his comm-link was damaged in the blast."_

_Her heart was on the brink of sinking, but she forced herself to stay calm. "Can you trace the comm-link's signal?"_

"_We'll try, your Majesty. I'll report back to you in five minutes."_

_Silence reigned once more. She stared hard at the dim Heart Crystal, as if trying to draw strength from it. Bibwit stood beside her, holding her hands in his in an attempt to calm her, though she barely noticed._

_Her mind was consumed with blinding hope._

_Static filled the air. The speakers amplified the General's voice. "Queen Alyss?"_

"_General?"_

_A small pause._

_Finally, his voice, tentative, sounded, "We're unable to locate the signal of Dodge Ander's comm-link."_

* * *

Generals Doppel and Gänger were at the head of the procession leading into the palace courtyard. They walked in perfect unison, both unfazed by the rain. Wearing their finest armour and uniforms, and chests decorated with medals, the two figures looked resplendent, refined. However, both wore expressions of sadness as they trudged on slowly, carrying assortments of medals in their hands. These particular medals were polished to perfection, and anyone could see that to be awarded with these medals, you must have done something honourable for the Queendom.

As the Generals, as one body, gently placed the medals into the capsule, she thought to herself, _he served his Queendom well ... but I'd never thought we would honour him like this ..._

* * *

_It was the rook who offered to go look for Dodge. _

_He had long since returned from a forest military base at about the same time the white knight returned from the Chessboard Desert. They met her and Bibwit in the war room of the Heart Palace. Bibwit urged them to see surgeons, but they brushed off his offers. No doubt, the surgeons' hands would be full with the influx of soldiers and chessmen in worse states than them._

_And the rook immediately had his attention on her than on his state when she mentioned that Dodge had not yet returned, nor that his comm-link's signal could not be traced._

_Upon this proclamation, the rook stood up and said, "I'll go look for him."_

_He sounded casual, but she knew that it took every ounce of the chessman's being to refrain from sounding worried._

"_But you have just arrived from the battle-front!" protested the tutor. "It's absurd that you insist on leaving when you haven't even rested once. You'll put yourself out!"_

"_No rest for the wicked," said the rook, smirking a bit as he adjusted the holster of his AD52 on his ammo belt. He turned to her, dipping his head in respect. His serene-blue eyes, now darkened with concern, met hers. "With the Queen's permission, I'll find and retrieve Dodge, so help me Issa. I am right in saying that the last time you saw him was at a gobbygrape arbour near a farm in the forest, your Majesty?"_

_She nodded, in both granting permission and affirmation._

_Dipping his head once more and putting on his helmet, the rook said, "I shall keep you up-to-date, Queen Alyss." To the knight, he said, "Are you coming?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Good," and with that, the rook turned on his heels and quickly left the war room._

_The knight stood up too, putting on his own helmet before addressing the bewildered Bibwit softly, "Mr Harte, please understand that the rook holds a special part in his heart for young Anders, ever since they buried Sir Justice together. This is one of the few instances that they have been separated in a battle. If anything should happen to Anders –"_

_But his voice trailed off when he noticed the pained look in her eyes, so he bowed his head and left to go after the rook, who very well nearly left his fellow chessman behind in a hopeful bid to find his oldest, closest friend._

_Flabbergasted by the turn of events that transpired, Bibwit turned to her. "How could you have let him go, Alyss? Why not someone else?"_

_She did not answer him. Instead, she stood up and left for the palace's briefing room, where she would wait for the rook to call in and say, "I found Dodge. We'll be returning shortly."_

_She could only hope._

_..._

_It seemed to her ages since the rook left on his mission, and the waiting aggravated her to no end._

_In the briefing room, she kept her eyes on the holographic viewing screens. Anytime now, the transmission would come through. Bibwit Harte stood beside her, urging her to have a cup of tea that the walrus-butler brought in five minutes ago. The walrus himself came in and out of the room, hoping to find the tea-cup empty so that he may refill it. Alas for him, the cup remained full._

_How could she eat or drink at a time like this?_

_When the walrus re-entered the room for the fifteenth time, the holographic viewing screens bleep-bleeped before a visual of the rook appeared on the screens._

_But his countenance, normally bearing a cheerful expression, looked woebegone and colourless. His eyes were darker than usual, his lips a long, thin line. Beside him, the knight stood sombrely, unable to look his queen in the eye. In the background, the farmland at which the gobbygrape arbour was located, where the Captain of the Palace Guard was last seen ..._

_Foreboding numbed her senses, threatening her hopes._

"_Queen Alyss?" said the rook, his voice soft._

"_Have you found him?" she croaked, her voice shaking. Pleading._

_The rook closed his eyes momentarily, breathing in deeply. The knight looked as if he wanted to say something, but at the last minute he decided to stay quiet._

_Finally, the rook answered, "Your Majesty, we have searched the entire arbour and the surroundings of the farm; we questioned the inhabitants for any news. But I am afraid to say that _we cannot locate Dodge anywhere_."_

_An audible gasp from the walrus. Bibwit stiffened beside her, for the life of him totally speechless._

_But none was as affected as her._

_She grabbed hold of the control desks, steadying herself as the numbing sensation took hold of her body. The symptoms of shock were threatening to show, but she mentally tried to stifle them down. Hope was not extinguished yet._

"_Are you sure?" she said, unable to believe what she heard. Perhaps she _imagined_ it?_

"_There's no _body _to be found at all," said the rook, his tone unintentionally harsh. He even forgot to address her as "your Majesty", not that it mattered to her._

_She gaped. "'Body?' What do you mean, 'body'? Do you presume that Dodge is ..."_

_Her voice trailed off, but the message was clear, for the rook replied, "I have reason to believe that Dodge is _dead, _though his body is unaccounted for_._"_

_She just could not believe what was coming out of the chessman's mouth. "No ..."_

_Without further ado, the rook guided his comm-link, from which transmitted the visual of the chessmen, down to the ground of the arbour._

"_No!"_

_Suddenly, she felt faint as the sinking feeling of de__spair overcame her being. She could feel Bibwit catching her as she fell, hearing him yell at the walrus to prepare her room and to fetch the surgeon. Through her now watery eyes, she stared hopelessly at the screen, at what she saw._

_On the ground was a smashed-up comm-link. Beside it, a sword._

_Dodge's sword. His father's sword. Dodge never let it out of his sight._

_Until now._

* * *

Behind the Generals, the white rook followed. The rain was falling a bit harder now, though it did not bother the chessman. His silver-white armour, which would shimmer in sunlight, was dulled by the grey clouds. Even the vibrant-red Heart symbol on his left shoulder-plate was darkened by two shades. Lucky for him that he was wearing his battle-topped helmet, for it was made difficult for the onlooker, who was able to see through the rain, to realise that the chessman's cheeks were not wet because of the unrepentant raindrops.

The rook stared straight ahead, gripping the well looked-after sword in his gloved hands. When it was his turn, he stepped forth to the capsule, lodged in the earth. Gently, he placed the sword into the capsule along the medals.

He reached up and removed his helmet, revealing his short, white locks. Dipping his head low, he softly whispered as he addressed the capsule, "You were a brave man. I've watched you grow from a boy to a valiant young man, so it breaks my heart that I have to see this day so soon, without having had a chance to say goodbye before you were gone."

He sniffed, wiping his watering eyes with his hand. "I never thought I would have to bury you, too."

The white knight and the Generals approached the rook from the side, but the chessman momentarily turned away, putting his helmet on again. When he faced them, he nodded as if to say, "I'm fine, let's get on with it" and accepted a shovel from the knight. The Generals, also with shovels in hand, stepped forth and closed the capsule.

Mourners and onlookers watched as the Generals and the chessmen shovelled piles of dirt onto the capsule. The rook was slow to start, seemingly hesitant, but he got into his stride as more and more dirt piled on the capsule. The rain beat down hard, making the burying difficult, but it only spurred on these Military figures to finish what they started.

When they finished, they stepped to the side, the rook looking especially forlorn.

Casting a glance at him, she thought, _How would you feel when the life of your dearest friend, who you alone saw grow from boy to man and saw his vengeance come into fruition, has been cut short?_

* * *

_Over the next three days, she planned everything, down to the last detail._

_She had ordered the chessmen and card soldiers that recovered from or was uninjured in battle to search for Dodge's body, but their efforts proved fruitless. Bibwit advised her to let them continue capturing Boarderlanders or let them return to the boarders to watch out for activities from Redd's forces. Reluctantly, she did as she was told. She let the Generals deal with civilians' queries regarding the after-effects of WILMA. She allowed Hatter Madigan and Homburg Molly to remain on Talon Point to mourn the loss of Weaver._

_Above all, she was heartbroken._

_Bibwit, the ever-reliable tutor, stayed at her side, keeping her informed of the latest happenings outside the palace. Half the time, however, she did not acknowledge his presence. _

_All she could think of was Dodge, and the last words he said to her, before he kissed her and left her: "Please stay safe. I'll try to do the same."_

_With no body to bury, she felt restless and in despair. How could she lay her beloved to rest without a body?_

_For the life of her, she could not imagine how she could go on without him._

_She had not felt like this since Dodgson mocked her with that horrid book he wrote._

"_What am I going to do, Bibwit?" she asked the tutor. "How can I hold a burial without Dodge's body?"_

_The tutor's ears drooped as he thought. Then, he answered, "Might I suggest a simple service to commemorate his memory? All we need are a few belongings to bury, and perhaps a send-off from the Palace Guards. We can hold the service in the courtyard; bury his possessions next to his father's grave."_

"_Yes," she considered, "I'll do just that."_

* * *

The bouquet forming the likeness of Sir Justice Ander's bobbed in greeting to Alyss, who, with Bibwit Harte and the Palace Guards, formed the rear of the procession. The Queen glided to the mound beside Sir Justice's grave. Her melancholy expression betrayed her grief and inner anguish. The raindrops bounced off her skin, though it could do nothing to dampen her spirits even more.

She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it, afraid that she would break down.

Instead, Alyss extended her hand out to Bibwit, who handed to her the Hereafter Seed. To everyone's surprise, she knelt on the muddy ground, her white dress soiled from the sludge. She pressed her lips to the Hereafter Seed.

_Goodbye, Dodge Anders. I love you._

The tears began to flow freely from her once-sparkling eyes. Carefully, she used her index finger to poke a hole in the mound and dropped the Hereafter Seed into the hole.

If she still had her imagination, a hole would have appeared automatically.

From the mound sprouted a bouquet of lilies, camellias and gardenias, which formed the likeness of Dodge Anders, Captain of the Palace Guard who was presumed dead by all.

Immediately, the Palace Guards unsheathed their swords and raised them to the grey sky, in remembrance of the life of their Captain, taken away from them, from Alyss, from his friends, from Wonderland, too soon.

The rain pounded on.

_..._

Alyss remained at Dodge's side, still down on her knees.

She was alone. Mourners and onlookers had long since dispersed; General Doppelgänger and the chessmen had left to resume their Military duties; Bibwit had left to instruct the walrus to do goodness knows what; Hatter Madigan and Homburg Molly were still away in mourning.

Imagination had not yet returned to her.

Dodge was taken away from her.

So she was well and truly alone.

And she felt _hopeless_.

Not even the sunlight, which broke through the clouds, could raise her spirits.

Nothing, she believed, _nothing_ could.

_Please stay safe. I'll try to do the same._

_I did, Dodge, but you didn't._

She stared at the likeness of Dodge Anders, swaying in the breeze.

_Where did you go?_

A hand gripped her shoulder, and Alyss looked up into the face of her albino tutor-cum-advisor. His prominent ears were lowered. His translucent skin shimmered in the sunlight. He looked at her with a pleading expression.

"Alyss, please come inside. I can't stand to see you like this."

"I can't leave him, Bibwit," she mumbled, tears running down her cheeks. "I let him go, and now he's gone. I can't leave him now."

"Blaming yourself will not bring him back, Alyss. Please come inside." He whispered now. "Think of the others who need you now. They need a Warrior Queen. They need _you, _Alyss."

Alyss glanced at the grave of her beloved, then at the grave of Sir Justice Anders. She sighed, and slowly she got to her feet. Together with Bibwit, she walked back to the palace, where in a few months time a new trouble on the horizon would show itself to all.

But for now, Queen Alyss Heart revelled for all she was worth in the love she had for Dodge Anders, the fallen guardsman.

The sky began to clear up.

* * *

**A/N: **I am a sucker for foreshadowing and symbolism, so don't be surprised by the length of this introductory chapter. :) Hope you liked it. I want to get the cover-art on here as soon as possible, and the next chapter, depending on the response I get to the intro, will come soon (seriously, LGW fanfiction needs more love).

Tell me if I got the characterisation right for everyone. The chessmen are especially hard, since the book says nothing about them nor their appearances. I know Alyss is a bit OOC and she seems to be treating Bibwit poorly, but that's her grieving mechanism taking over. And no, there's no slashy overtones with Dodge and the rook (might seem like it, but naaaahhhh ...).

And yes, Dodge Anders is presumed dead by all – the HORROR. I guess you can say that this fanfic is a response to the, uh, weak conclusion that is "Arch Enemy" to the LGW trilogy, and a close look at mentalities and attitudes – but we'll see!

Reviews are welcome!

*~AI07~* ;)


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